Get to Know: Matt Irwin

He’s the singer and guitarist of alternative, pop/punk band Hello Casanova. These guys encompass punk greats such as Green Day and Blink 182 but they are able to add a bit of Northern Irish flair to make their tracks original and timeless.

Matt Irwin has become synonymous with live perfomances that are musically flawless as well as fun and personal (and sometimes Buckfast is involved). The guys will be releasing new music very soon so in the meantime let’s Get to Know Matt Irwin.

Name: Matt Irwin

Where you’re from: Armagh

Describe yourself in 5 words or less: driven, passionate, up 4 craic! (I never know what to say for this!)

Superstitions: When I see 11:11 on the clock I always make a wish, no harm in trying!

Favourite gig you’ve attended: I seen Green Day in London at the Emirates Stadium in 2013 and they played all of my childhood songs and I did cry when they played, ‘Waiting’ so I have to say that. General Fiasco at Voodoo this year is also up there too!

Musician you’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Blindboy from the Rubberbandits! I’ve been listening to his podcast recently and he never fails to make me laugh! He’s also really deep so we could have all sorts of interesting talks in the space of an elevator!

Biggest musical influence: I love a lot of local music, seeing such cool stuff come from home really inspires me! Watching Brand New Friend and Jealous of the Birds blow up really makes me feel great! It shows that anybody no matter who you are or where your from can write class tunes and go for your dream! I also can’t leave Green Day out of this, they’re the reason I started writing tunes! I also love all the oldies, David Bowie, The Eagles, The Cure etc.

The last song you listened to: Man On The Moon – R.E.M

Last thing you do before going onstage: If I’m driving, make sure I haven’t lost my car keys and if I’m not driving make sure I have a drink!

What is next for the band: The bands in a great place right now! We have a full unit at last after like two years! Oisin Jayat has joined us on the bass guitar and Padraig Norton has joined on the kit and we love the dudes so much! We have just finished recording 7 of our best ever tunes. We wrote, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered them all ourselves and haven’t left anything at all in the tank! We’ve took a natural evolution too musically! Ethan and I now share lead vocals 50/50 and the whole band do harmonies! All the tunes will be dropping soon which we can’t wait for!

You can check out Hello Casanova on their SoundCloud page here. Cover Photo Credit: Chloë Mahood.